Scores of union Starbucks baristas from across the Pacific Northwest descended on a hotel in Seattle on Wednesday to unveil to Starbucks lawyers a set of proposals that they had been researching and debating for more than six months.
A $20 an hour starting wage nationwide. A 37-hour week guarantee for full-time employees. A 100 percent employer-covered health-care plan for full- and part-time workers.Credit card tipping at all stores.
The session lasted close to four hours — much longer than any of the roughly 90 previous bargaining sessions held since last October — though workers did not get a chance to share all of their demands with management before Starbucks’ lawyers packed up to leave.
The demands from Starbucks Workers United come at a moment of heightened attention to working conditions at the coffee mega-chain. Starbucks held its annual shareholder meeting Thursday, where investors voted on whether to order a third-party assessment of the company’s commitment to international labor standards. (The results will be released in the coming days.) Workers at about 100 stores in 40 cities nationwide went on strike on Wednesday to make a point to the company’s new chief executive, Laxman Narasimhan, who started this week. Founder Howard Schultz stepped down as leader of the company on Monday, two weeks earlier than expected, though he still plans to testify before Congress next week about its labor practices.
Advertisement
Many organizers believe winning major...
DHAKA, May 4, 2026 (BSS) - A claim circulated on social media alleging that activists of BNP raped and murdered the daughter of an Awami League (AL) leader in Gazipur has been identified as false ...